


The Force of Motion

by randomalia (spilinski)



Category: Hornblower (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2015-06-27
Packaged: 2018-04-06 10:22:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4217988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spilinski/pseuds/randomalia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The sentry guard opened the door and stood waiting, and as he watched Hornblower look back through the bars with serious dark eyes, still refusing to broach the real topics between them, Kennedy understood that he wasn't going to escape from this, either.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Force of Motion

**Author's Note:**

> 50 sentences for Archie Kennedy, for the 1character challenge on LJ. Implied Hornblower/Kennedy (among other things).

#01 - Package

The London papers carried the story of the heroic success of _Renown_ , her late captain James Sawyer, and two lieutenants, whose performance of duty had been outstanding.

 

#02 - Obscure

Before Kennedy lost consciousness there were sometimes lights, a strange bright haze which hung about objects and people, and moon on the water became clouds hiding the sky.

 

#03 - Skeleton

When you stripped everything away -- all the aches and jealousies and fears -- it was possible to see this admiration for Hornblower as something simple and abiding, not requiring of thought.

 

#04 - Nurse

Clayton had thought about killing Simpson often.

 

#05 - Domino

Archie turned on his bench and watched the people milling about, taking their seats and leaning to whisper into their neighbour's ear; some were there for the play, as he was, and some were there for the occasion, and whenever any of them caught his eye he would smile.

 

#06 - Thaw

Bush had proven himself to be an honourable and competent man, and Kennedy did not approve of bearing a grudge; thus they would all go on together.

 

#07 - Waves

He was woken by a sea of men's voices, rising and falling with the languid shudder of the boat, punctuated here by frustration, there by bitten command -- _quickly, you fool, keep your pistol to his head or I shall keep mine to yours_ \-- and it took another moment for Kennedy to understand that they were speaking in French.

 

#08 - Burglar

It was only in his mind to forestall what he knew must happen; perhaps it was the old, innate desire to avoid causing a fuss with his own predicaments which caused him to take himself to one side and sit quietly, or perhaps something more generous; all over the ship his fellow crewmen were busy attending to the wounded, which included the _Renown_ herself, and Kennedy knew his own need was not so great -- he had shot enough men in his life to know that a man with a bullet in his chest was a man already dead.

 

#09 - Frame

The line of hopeful officers had dwindled as Kennedy sat holding his book, a copy of _Norie's Seamanship_ , unopened in his hands, any attempts to read it having been overwhelmed by the occasion; he adjusted his coat and decided he would stand to take the examination next, not wanting to wait a moment longer.

 

#10 - Carpet

Once he had asked Styles what he was doing, leaning over the side while the rest of the men caroused below; Styles had replied sullenly that he was fishing, though he had no line and the water around _Justinian_ resembled nothing so much as a long grey carpet, with not a creature to be had from it; Kennedy had stood with him for a time; they had spoken of the weather.

 

#11 - Insect

Occasionally flies crawled upon Kennedy's skin, along his shoulder or hand then disappeared again into the swollen tropical air of the room, but as he seemed not to notice them, Bush made no effort to keep them away.

 

#12 - Mentor

Kennedy pulled the bandage tightly around Hunter's wound; it would hurt like hell, but not so much as the knowledge of his failure.

 

#13 - Spirit

"I would only recommend jumping off clifftops, Mr Wellard, if everything behind you is about to explode -- although I would not say no to doing it again."

 

#14 - Wax

Clive, having seemed to catch on to the notion of being useful at last, offered to bring ink and paper and sealing wax to the infirmary, but Kennedy declined, citing a lack of creditors and no sweetheart to speak of.

 

#15 - Trash

When Kennedy pushed the matter, the French lieutenant confirmed, grudgingly, that the British taking of the _Papillon_ had been successful.

 

#16 - Womb

The Theatre Royal had been demolished the very year Kennedy had gone to sea, a new one put up in its place a few years after; it was reportedly a great deal larger and probably finer than the old Drury he knew so well, but none could possibly match her for atmosphere and charm; indeed, at the time he felt as though his home had been pulled all to pieces.

 

#17 - Burn

The blood that had risen to his mouth was hot, but the wound in his chest burned hotter still.

 

#18 - Flash

Kennedy came aboard _Indefatigable_ the second time with nothing to his name; he borrowed clean shirts and a razor for his cheeks, and hoped his midshipman's pay would be equal to the cost of a new hat.

 

#19 - Anima

He remembered there were wild places in Scotland that felt as though they went on forever, but it was only standing on the royal yard of the ,em>Indefatigable that Kennedy could grasp the idea of infinite space.

 

#20 - Gamble

"I realise it is not your first wish, Father, but I have decided on the Navy."

 

#21 - Statue

There at the side stood Hornblower, his bruises only shown to the sea, his contained dignity lighting Kennedy's insides uncomfortably, with both esteem and shame.

 

#22 - Perfume

He found it was the fresh tang of the sea air he missed while in France, rather than the powdered grit and animal smell of London, though he could never be certain if he was recalling each correctly.

 

#23 - Wine

After the news of their posting to the _Renown_ they had taken to the inns of Portsmouth, and in one of them Kennedy stood from his chair near the fire and raised a toast, saying something about England and Bonaparte and seventy-four guns with a quirk of his mouth, and Hornblower watched with his wine held aloft, the light catching red in the glass, feeling how glad he was they had been posted together.

 

#24 - Reflection

Later in life, Horatio would remember the way Archie had laughed, and wonder if it was another kindness given to a lesser man.

 

#25 - Take

The last thing he wanted was to say goodbye.

 

#26 - Magic

"And then Oberon instructs one of his minions to enchant the other characters, you see, Horatio, which is hard luck for the fellow transformed into a donkey, you can imagine how that went, and -- well, he probably wore an expression much like the one on your face at this very moment."

 

#27 - Fragment

If asked, Kennedy would recall his first clear notion of the appeal of the Navy as stemming from a boyhood glimpse of officers outside The Admiralty, dressed in fine capes and hats, more distant and important than anything he had imagined.

 

#28 - Cats and Dogs

Kennedy and Bush came from drastically different circumstances, one educated and financially comfortable, one quite the opposite, and yet at Kingston it became clear they shared a great deal more than a difficult life.

 

#29 - Hum

Horatio, as it turned out, was quite tone-deaf, which Archie thought to be a fine stroke of luck, for he had never been able to carry a tune, and sometimes tried anyway.

 

#30 - Flinch

It was well-known among the crew that Mr Kennedy was a damn fine shot with a pistol.

 

#31 - Rush

A lesson he never learned: that there were moments when it was better to keep silent, even if it felt terribly wrong to do so.

 

#32 - Jester

"Perhaps we should address his horse as M'Lady?"

 

#33 - Haven

Here at last, with _Indefatigable_ , a captain worthy of his title.

 

#34 - Dusk

Hobbs watched Kennedy passing through the shadows along the deck, appearing to enjoy the night air as he kept watch, his left hand resting casually on the hilt of his sword.

 

#35 - Chord

At a dinner given by neighbours only a month before he left London: the eldest daughter sitting at the harp in concentration, the line of her bare neck and the modest swell of her breast, the silent drape of her long skirts.

 

#36 - Indulgence

Beneath his spare shirts were his books, as many texts as he could not bear to leave behind, feeling them to be almost old friends.

 

#37 - Freezer

"What would be the point of sailing to the Arctic Ocean," Kennedy began as he flopped down into his hammock and tugged at his midshipman's coat, "when it's cold enough to put ice in your veins and there's not a damn useful thing to do, except wish you were back in the Channel facing a fleet of Frogs."

 

#38 - Passage

Buckland was a disgrace to the position of first lieutenant, which conveyed a duty more critical, more expansive than instructing the mids and nodding to Sawyer; when Hornblower was made captain he would need a lieutenant who knew his work, and knew how to take care for him when he would not take care for himself.

 

#39 - Coast

The sun at Muzillac was hot and too familiar; he felt as if he would see his own footprints ahead of him, and wanted to make new ones.

 

#40 - Keepsake

The sentry guard opened the door and stood waiting, and as he watched Hornblower look back through the bars with serious dark eyes, still refusing to broach the real topics between them, Kennedy understood that he wasn't going to escape from this, either.

 

#41 - Morbid

The punishment was being left for weeks in a deep hole in the ground, some strange combination of coffin and cell; he supposed that if he died, they would not need to bury him.

 

#42 - Shipwreck

They had stumbled dreadfully from the inn, having downed something in the measure of seventy barrels, Kennedy was sure, although Horatio disagreed on the mathematics ( _Archie, that is impossible, unless they are very, exceedingly small barrels_ ), the ensuing attempts at calculation distracting him until Kennedy steered them both in the direction of a bed.

 

#43 - Socks

"I do not know how I am supposed to economise," Mama said, trying to be vexed but smiling anyway, "if you will both keep growing so quickly and playing so wildly; Archie, you had best give your brown boots to your brother, and make sure he does not spoil them, for they are the only pair he may have until Winter."

 

#44 - Sand

Horatio was so consumed with the Spanish book between them he was unaware of the lines the men were drawing in the sand; Archie, however, could see them very well.

 

#45 - Coin

The burial had been at Kingston; Hornblower had waited as the attendants carried the body out of the cell, and watched the high bright sun strike the buttons of gold on Kennedy's chest.

 

#46 - Guile

Escape plans were all very well in theory.

 

#47 - Eyelash

Since coming back on deck Wellard was keeping his head bowed, his eyelashes a black beacon on skin pale with pain, and Kennedy could remember just how much it hurt to walk after a beating, how much it hurt to breathe, and how he had realised there was work to be done, regardless.

 

#48 - Drive

Giving the confession had been both practical and necessary, and a matter of friendship, but under all these lay gratitude as full as the sea.

 

#49 - Net

It was the most exciting moment he had known: setting out from the dock to board the _Justinian_ , a hulking mass with bare masts pointing into clear sky, the shore boat rocking slightly with the breeze and the force of motion, taking him forward.

 

#50 - Destination

To his family he said he would make his career, and to himself, that he would also make his character.


End file.
